"Hello, I'm 18 year old Kim Nari," the girl introduced, waving to the camera. "I really didn't think at the start of I-Land that I would be part of the debut team, but I'm really grateful to get to be in the group. I'll do my best to make my fans and family proud."
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Nari got into the car, still reeling from the events of the day. Saying goodbye to the other I-landers, being announced as part of the debut team, nearly kissing Jungwon on live television? It had been a long day.
Sliding into her seat next to Sunoo, she automatically rested her head on his shoulder. "We're not I-Landers anymore, we're part of Enhypen," Jungwon said in realization.
"It's gonna be so cool tomorrow to wake up under a different ceiling."
Jay's comment made her snort. "That's what you look forward to? Really?"
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"Wah," Nari breathed, entering what would be their home now. Heading to the bedroom, she giggled upon realizing they'd all share one room.
"This'll be hectic."
"For real though," Jay agreed beside her.
"Noona, is this gonna be okay for you?" Niki asked. She nodded, hugging his side.
"It'll be fine, as long as y'all get out when I need to change."
[ Our Nari wants to room with the boys! ]
Eventually, they decided the first task was eating. "I seriously might just fall asleep at the table," Nari mumbled.
"아니, this is our first night living together! You can't just fall asleep," Sunoo whined. She sighed, dead-weighting onto him making Jungwon giggle as he stumbled.
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"Oh god," Nari groaned, watching herself stumble onto the stage. They were gathered, watching the first episode of I-Land and feeling very cringey.
"She seemed clumsy, but in a cute way." Jungwon said during his interview. She glanced at him with a small smile as he flushed.
"I wondered what kind of performance she would show," Jake said.
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"Looking at the skilled trainees, I thought that I want to be like them. And one of them was Heeseung."
Everyone burst out laughing at the clip of Jay. Next was their first performances, and when it got to Nari's, she immediately cringed.
"I felt like if I didn't vote for her, I'd be a jerk because she's the only girl," Sunghoon admitted.
"So you pity voted?" Nari teased, elbowing his side.
"She was so pretty," Daniel confessed with a shy laugh, making her smile and flush slightly.
[ Yes, she is ❤️ ]
(Off camera)
"I think he liked you," Sunoo said.
"아니, he's like a little brother," she insisted.
"That doesn't mean he thought of you like a sister," Heeseung reminded. She shook her head in disbelief.
"I think hyung is right," Niki agreed. "Taki too. All the younger ones, really."
"Including you?" she joked, making him roll his eyes. Sunoo grew a mischievous expression.
"The one with the biggest crush is Ju- AH!"
(On camera)
When Jay and Sunghoon's performance came up, everyone commented on how cool they looked.
"Intimidating," Nari answered when asked what she thought of them. "Handsome and intimidating."
"For real though," Sunoo agreed.
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"Yang Jungwon-ssi, please hurry up," Sunoo called from outside the bathroom door.
"He's still in there?" Nari asked, braiding her hair. Sunoo nodded with a sigh.
"He's gonna make the bathroom all steamy," she muttered, glancing in the hall mirror to make sure she got all of her hair out of her face.
Nari headed toward the bedroom to take her place. She got the bottom bunk below Niki who was already asleep.
"We're a debut team that's going to debut," Sunghoon randomly said to Heeseung who agreed.
"A debut team that's going to debut in—less than a month?"
"Yeah," Heeseung replied. Nari laughed slightly at their odd conversation.
"These oppas are so weird," she joked, adjusting in her bed. Jungwon finally entered the room, his hair still a bit wet. "Wonie, dry your hair properly," she scolded.
"It's fine," he sighed, too tired to care.
"You're gonna get a cold."
"I'll be fine."
"And if you're not?"
"I'll still be fine."
[ Bickering yet again ]
Nari sighed, giving in and pulling up the blankets to snuggle better into. "You're nicer when you're not tired," she commented, leaning over to pinch his arm lightly.
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"Guys, let's get ready to leave," the manager called. Nari sighed, slowly sitting up as Jay hopped right out of bed.
"Manager-nim, how long do we have?"
"About 30 minutes."
She nodded, rubbing her eyes before turning to the one who'd be the hardest to get up. "Niki, wake up." He didn't stir even after she patted his arm, so she gave up and headed toward the kitchen.
"Morning oppa," Nari greeted, automatically going to hug Jay.
"I'm making coffee," he replied quietly, patting her head before going back to the room. She waited in silence until the coffee maker signaled it was ready.
[ Jay, who's been making her coffee since I-Land ]
"I like my coffee pretty sweet," Nari commented to the cameras. She added some creamer and four Splenda before stirring it and sitting down at the table.
"It probably wasn't on camera a lot, but I like to read first thing in the morning while I drink my coffee," she added, pulling out her iPad. "I usually read physical books, but there's a lot of free ones digitally too that I've been reading lately."
She sat and read, drinking her coffee for about fifteen minutes. "I read about two chapters," she announced. She heard the others waking up, and decided she should make some breakfast for everyone.
"I'm making toast!" she shouted, making an unsuspecting Sunoo jolt awake in his chair in another room.
"That scared me," he breathed.
The boys slowly filed out into the dining room, some opting for cereal while others took from the pile of toast she made. "Sunoo, eat," Heeseung said, pushing his bowl towards the younger boy who took a bite.
"Thank you, Noona," Jungwon mumbled, pecking her hair nonchalantly. She flushed, unconsciously leaning into his touch.
"How long have you been up?" Jake asked.
"About twenty minutes?"
They finished getting ready and finally headed out the door.
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"When we debut, will we do I&credible?" Jungwon asked.
"Don't say such a horrible thing," Jay replied, making Nari laugh in her seat next to him.
"Sunghoon oppa is so quiet," she remarked.
"I'm trying not to overuse my voice," he explained.
"Noona will do 'Taki Taki?'" Jungwon joked, going back to the previous conversation.
"Does that mean we'll do the contemporary dance again as well?" she said, smiling and resting her hand on his shoulder in front of her.
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Enhypen sat in front of a camera, preparing for their first livestream. "You can say hello when 1,000 people enter."
"1,000?" Sunoo exclaimed.
"We might not get that many," Jake worried.
"We will, I'm sure of it," Nari replied. "There were like—10 million people voting for I-Land."
They began discussing about how to start the livestream, Nari's hand unconsciously grabbing onto Jungwon's arm who pretended not to notice so as not to draw attention to it.
"This is gonna be so chaotic," she sighed with a small smile.
A few minutes later, they went around introducing themselves until it was Nari's turn.
"Hello everyone, I'm Enhypen's queen, Nari!"
"That was strong," Sunoo cheered, hyping his bestie up.
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"It felt...surreal to introduce myself as a member of a group," she said in the interview. "I wanted to work that much harder to show I'm worth it."
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"Wow!" Everyone exclaimed as they walked into the room filled with Enhypen decorations. Their shock grew more as they realized their parents were there through video call.
"Eomma!" Nari exclaimed immediately, running toward the screen and waving. The staff had them sit on the couch as everyone's parents went introducing themselves to the group one by one.
"Hello everyone, I'm Nari's mom."
"You have the same eyes," Sunghoon noticed, making her smile and nod. She beamed in Niki's direction as he was very clearly happy that his parents could join from Japan.
They were given some time to talk to their family before moving on. "Eomma, how are Unnie and the baby?" Nari immediately asked.
"They're doing well," she assured with a warm smile. "She's about five months along now? They're talking about names, but haven't decided on anything."
"I see," Nari replied with a small but longing smile. Jungwon squeezed her hand in support.
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"The idol that you dreamed of being is probably different for everyone. But whatever you imagine, you wouldn't have become an idol group without your fans. Because of their dedication, K-POP was able to show their presence in the global music industry and K-POP idols could roam the entire world. Just because you debuted as idols it does not mean you're naturally worth of such devotion. The fans aren't dumb. They're ready to look at you with more affection than anyone. But at the same time, they're the ones that can strictly find out who you really are. They're who fans are."
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"Everything Bang PD-nim said reminded me of all the idols I look up to. Just as I am their fan and want them to be...worthy? I don't know if that's the right word, but I want to be someone my fans can be proud of as well like I'm proud of my idols."
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"It's bending!" Nari laughed as they tried to cut the cake with the plastic knife, but failed epically. "This isn't gonna work."
"It'll work," Jay insisted, continuing to press down.
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(Off camera)
Jungwon approached the screen by himself as the others were busy. "Eomma, Appa, Ms. Kim, I have something I'd like to say."
"What is it?" Nari's mom curiously asked. The boy flushed before bowing to his parents and her mom.
"I'd like your permission to officially court Nari Noona."
The others' parents began cooing and exclaiming as he blushed even more, grateful the others hadn't seemed to notice what was going on.
"Jungwon-ssi, look at me," her mom instructed. He lifted his head, cautiously meetin her gaze. "I've seen my baby get hurt before, and I don't want that to happen again."
He deflated slightly, nodding and thinking she would say no. "But I've also never seen her look at anyone the way she looks at you." His eyes widened slightly, a shy smile showing itself.
"I know you'll take care of her, Jungwon. You have my blessing."
"And ours," his parents added, making him smile brightly.
"Thank you!" he exclaimed before bowing once more.
Nari glanced over and noticed the younger boy bowing. "Wonie, come eat the cake before I take your slice!" He ran over happily, embracing her and catching her by surprise. "Wonie?"
"I'm just happy," he replied with a smile. She smiled back, looking around for a moment before pecking his cheek.
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[ The day before ENHYPEN's first album cover shoot ]
"Do I even have winter clothes?" Nari curiously asked, going through her luggage.
"You didn't pack winter clothes?" Sunghoon asked.
"I don't own many. Back where I lived in California it was always hot." He hummed, throwing her a couple hoodies.
"Give them back when you have your own warm clothes."
"Okay, thank you oppa."
She packed the hoodies, several shirts, two pairs of jeans and underwear. "That's all are you're taking?" Niki questioned as he walked by. She nodded.
He sighed before digging through his clothes. "Do you wanna borrow some sweats? They're gonna be loose on you though," he warned.
"You don't have to, I'll be fine."
"You don't have any pajamas though. What happened to the fuzzy ones you wore in I-Land?"
She snapped her fingers in realization. "I forgot about those! Hold on." She began looking all over the dorm for them.
"Jay oppa, have you seen my pajamas?" she yelled across the small house.
He entered the living room where she was currently scavenging for clothes. "I haven't seen those since I-Land," he answered, making her groan.
"How could I lose them?"
Long story short, she ended up with hoodies from Sunghoon, shirts from Jungwon, sweats from Niki, and a padded jacket from Jay.
(Off camera)
"Isn't that Niki's?" Jungwon asked, gesturing to the sweats she was packing.
"Mhm."
"And this jacket is Jay hyungs?"
"Yup."
"And these hoodies are Sunghoon hyung's?"
"You betcha."
She watched his brows furrowed as he left the room before returning with a pile of long sleeve shirts. "Take my shirts." Nari turned to him in confusion.
"I have my own shirts though."
"So? Take mine too."
"But you need them."
He shook his head, putting them in her suitcase. "You're not gonna go around wearing their clothes and not wearing mine." She giggled slightly, patting his cheeks.
"Okay, Wonie. Thank you for the donations."
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Nari was in the kitchen, watching Jake and Jungwon make ramen. She offered to help, but they said they were fine.
"Remember the first day?" Jungwon suddenly asked, turning to Nari. "'Daniel, my ramen attacked me!'" She flushed at his mocking, smacking his shoulder.
"That was so long ago," she reminisced. "So much has changed since then."
"Especially us," Jungwon commented with a small smile.
"All of us have grown stronger bonds," Jake cut in to make it seem less suspicious. He had had a feeling for a while now something was going on between the two, but didn't say anything yet.
"I'm gonna go check on Sunoo," she said, leaving the area. He looked up at her approach before going back to his phone.
"Has anything happened with you and Jungwon?" he whispered. Her eyebrows shot up as she grabbed him, leading him towards Niki who was in the bedroom asleep already.
(Off camera)
"Why'd you bring me here?"
"Because they can't air anything at this time around Niki," she explained. "You can't ask that in front of the cameras, Sunoo."
"Sorry," he apologized. "But did anything happen since that time he said he liked you?"
She flushed, making him grin in satisfaction. "We've kissed a couple times," she confessed shyly. He beamed, hugging her and jumping up and down.
"My ship is sailing!"
She laughed before remembering something.
"When it was announced that I was going to debut with you guys, he was about to say something, but didn't get to. What do you think it was?"
Sunoo shrugged, leading her to the kitchen with their arms linked. "You should just ask him yourself."
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(On camera)
"It's chilly," Nari commented, pulling Jay's jacket tighter around her. "I need warmer clothes in my wardrobe."
The members played around for a while, writing in the sand and looking at rocks. Nari found Jungwon and wrapped her hand around his arm as he walked down the beach with a self-camera.
"Noona, your hair is going crazy," he laughed, watching her bangs fly in the air due to the wind. She laughed as well, pointing at his own wild hair.
"This is nice," she commented, leaning her head onto his shoulder as they walked. He glanced down at her, smiling with a nod before turning the camera off.
(Off camera)
His arm wrapped around her waist instead as they continued walking. "Let's come back here at sunset so it can be like a romantic scene from a movie."
Nari nodded, humming in agreement. "Wonie, there was something you were gonna say the night it was announced we'd be in the debut group. What was it?" He stopped walking momentarily, turning her to face him before placing the camera down gently onto the ground.
"You're scaring me a little," she nervously laughed as his hands held her waist. He shook his head with a smile.
"I just wanted to tell you that...whatever happened in your past relationship isn't gonna happen with us. I don't need to know the details, I can just see the way that person hurt you before and that's enough for me to know. I'll never do that to you, Noona."
Her eyes watered at his heartfelt words. "Be careful, Yang Jungwon. I might fall for you."